WASHINGTON — Labor unions are likely to focus much of their political attention in 2014 on unseating Republican governors in key states, rather than a major push for House and Senate candidates, a top union political strategist said Tuesday.

Speaking with reporters in Washington, AFL-CIO Political Director Michael Podhorzer said that with the outlook for federal policymaking being mostly "gridlock" for the past two years, state politics is "the area that is going to be most consequential for people's lives."

The labor organization, he said, will also be active in some Senate races to protect Democratic allies, and will also be engaged in the highest profile race in the country — the re-election campaign of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. But those races are clearly not the first things on the union's political to-do list.

Podhorzer singled out six Republican governors the unions are likely to focus on: Scott Walker of Wisconsin; John Kasich in Ohio; Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania; Michigan's Rick Snyder; Maine's Paul LePage and Rick Scott of Florida. All of the governors have had battles with unions in their states, most notably Walker, who survived a recall vote after pushing though legislation to curtail bargaining rights of public employee unions.

"Our focus is really going to be at the state level, because that's where we think that our constituents — working-class families, working families — are going to have the most at stake over the following four years," Podhorzer said. He argued that rather than a referendum on the last two years of President Obama's tenure, the 2014 elections are more likely to be a referendum on the policies of the Republican governors.

"All of them have in one way or the other slashed the safety net and education in their states, have pursued tax breaks and other benefits for the affluent," Podhorzer said, and many of them have passed voter ID measures that may make it harder for opponents to get to the polls.

Those races are also in states where unions have a strong presence, while some of the key Senate races that may determine party control in Washington are in states without significant union strongholds, like Louisiana and Arkansas. Democratic Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Mark Pryor of Arkansas are running for re-election in those states which both voted overwhelmingly for Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election; they are considered the most vulnerable Democrats in the Senate.

Podhorzer also said the AFL-CIO will be very active in this year's Virginia gubernatorial race, in part because the unions are strongly opposed to Republican candidate Ken Cuccinelli, and in part because it serves as a test of strategies for next year. "We have looked at the races in the odd years not just as important in their own rights but as the testing ground for approaches we are going to take in the even years," he said.

Cuccinelli has attacked his Democratic opponent, Terry McAuliffe, for being too cozy with unions, and argues that the state could save millions on transportation projects if it took a harder line with construction unions. At a forum last week, Cuccinelli said the race was a contest between "Union Terry and Frugal Ken."

Podhorzer said that beyond mobilizing union workers in Northern Virginia and Norfolk, the AFL–CIO will also be relying on the super PAC it formed in the 2012 election cycle — called Workers Voice — "which enables us to talk to people who are not members of unions." The political action committee raised about $22 million for the 2012 elections, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, making it one of the top-10-largest super PACs.

Jon Thompson, spokesman for the Republican Governors Association, said of Podhorzer's comments: "After seeing union membership fall to its lowest point in 96 years, it's no surprise the big labor union bosses are launching another desperate attempt to counter the pro-jobs, pro-business reforms 30 Republican governors are implementing and championing. While unions bicker and fight for their very survival, Republican governors are getting results — and the voters have taken notice."